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They are the only surviving remnants of the park, which predated Lion Country Safari by 15 years and pushed an obscure California competitor named Disneyland off the front page of Life magazine in 1960.

Ginger Pedersen (above), a dean at Palm Beach State College, has almost single-handedly kept alive her grandfather’s vision. She has gathered scrapbooks and old movies. Her Web page, www.africausa.com, details the history of the park and gives behind-the-scenes views. It also gives former visitors a chance to submit memories.

Not long after World War II, John D. “Pete” Pedersen (above, in 1952) had an idea to spice up the then-quiet hamlet of Boca Raton.

He bought 300 acres, planted thousands of tropical trees and built a 30-foot waterfall and sent his son to Africa to bring back animals that roamed free inside double 8-foot fences.

Africa U.S.A. opened in February 1953. The 177-acre spread would draw up to 2,000 visitors a day.

Admission was free, but visitors paid to ride trams for a 6-mile, one-hour tour of Tanziniki, the country Pedersen invented.

At Jungle Town, visitors were greeted by “Masai Warriors,” most of whom commuted from nearby Pompano Beach. Pedersen wanted his own “Old Faithful,” so he created the Watusi geyser by building a hill and connecting the pipes to the pump assembly that ran the waterfall.

By the early 1960s, the suburbs crept in. Pedersen later had a long zoning battle with the city.

Then early in 1961, federal agriculture agents found the first-ever North American outbreak of African red ticks. Pedersen had to destroy thousands of dollars worth of animals. Fed up, he sent off his animals and closed down.

In October 1961, he sold the land, which he had bought for about $10,000, to developers for $1.1 million.

A ticket for the Jungle Train tour at Africa U.S.A. The ‘1976’ reflects the ticket number. (Photo courtesy of Ginger Pedersen, http://www.africa-usa.com)

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so excited to here bout africa usa. i am a once zoo keep now salesman. i live right outside camino gardens an this info made my day. it is so exciting to know that in the past there was someone who had my same passions in life and made them come true were i now live